Tuesday, February 28, 2017

This is Dancing Queen, but it was supposed to be Aphrodite. This is the second year in a row that I've
gotten a Dancing Queen bulb instead of Aphrodite. Pretty, but still
disappointing.

I've contacted the company, and they're sending a replacement bulb. Dancing Queen is pretty and all, but I already have the mislabeled one from last year and I was really looking forward to Aphrodite this year!

Saturday, February 25, 2017

This is Ruby Star, a sumptuous rich cranberry red with a green throat. I took this picture a couple days ago when the first flower opened, but now it has two scapes completely open at once, each with five flowers! A little crowded, but very pretty.

And this one just opened today, Moon Scene. I had completely forgotten what this one was supposed to look like since I ordered it last fall, so it was a nice surprise. Not the showiest, and I don't think this is one of my all-time favorite amaryllis. It's still pretty, but kind of...meh. We'll see how I feel as it continues to open.

What I would like you to notice about that second picture, please, is that it is taken OUTSIDE! And there is NO SNOW in my front yard! This is huge! I actually had the front door and all the windows open for almost two hours this afternoon, to let a fresh breeze blow through the house.

Never mind that it wasn't much above 45 degrees, it felt like spring. And never mind that it's now back below freezing, and we're back under a winter storm warning and supposed to get 3-6 inches of snow over the next two days. For two hours this afternoon my house was open, and it was delightful, and I have violas starting to bloom.

Saturday, February 18, 2017

Every time I go look at my cacti and succulents, there's something new happening.

This is Parodia haselbergii, formerly classified as Notocactus haselbergii. It's native to the pampas of southern Brazil, where it grows on rocky outcrops.

[Side note: Collecting plants is like taking a world tour, without actually traveling. I love learning about new places.]

This flower is amazing. It has such saturated, vibrant yellows and oranges that it looks like it's glowing. A little ember, sitting on top of the plant.

Just beautiful. And at least two more to come!

The second one for today is Mammillaria crinita, formerly known as Mammillaria zeilmanniana (which is how my plant is labeled). I do wish they would stop changing the names around. This species is native to a very small area of central Mexico, only about one square kilometer, and is critically endangered in the wild (though widely commercially propagated).

This is another Mammillaria with small pink flowers. No, Emma, it's not just the same as the one I posted last time.

This one has completely different spines (hooked, ouch!), few wooly hairs, and the flowers are larger and less purple.

Thursday, February 16, 2017

I have two cacti blooming right now, and a bunch more about to pop. This is so exciting, because I've only been playing with cacti for about a year, and I'm so THRILLED that they are doing well enough to bloom!

This first one was sold as Mammillaria denudata, though the accepted name is now Mammillaria lasiacantha var. denudata. This is native to southern Texas/New Mexico/Arizona and northern Mexico, and is a beautiful little plant.

I love how flat the spines are to the body. The flowers have to push their way through that thick lattice of spines to bloom, and while they aren't very showy, they have a certain charm. If my basement were warmer, they would open wider.

When I first saw these flowers starting to poke out a couple weeks ago, I couldn't believe it. When I got this plant last July it was completely unrooted, without even a hint of a live root to be seen. It looked like a perfect little ping pong ball. I set it on the surface of some dry soil and ignored it for several months, without watering it at all. When I gently peeked underneath in October, I was thrilled to see three little roots, so I gave it a tiny spray of water, then another in November, December, and January. And now it's firmly rooted and blooming! Yay plant!

This next cactus is Mammillaria hahniana, native to central Mexico. Mine is from Home Depot, an impulse buy in August that Emma tried to talk me out of ("You already have cactuses that look like that, Mom." "But I don't have this species! Be quiet, child.")

Isn't it pretty?

Like many Mammillaria species, the flowers are small and pink. As with the one above, they would open wider if my basement were warmer.

It's so fancy, with its brown spines and white spines and woolly hairs. The flowers are really just a bonus.

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Amaryllis number nine for the year is called Double Record, but it's not living up to its name. As you can see, there is only one layer of petals (though technically it's one layer of petals and one layer of sepals).

Double Record is a semi-double variety, which
means it doesn't have as many layers of petals as a fully double variety. I knew it was a semi-double when I bought it, but I didn't know that apparently this particular variety is known for losing its "double-ness" and only showing one layer with sometimes a few wimpy extra petals in the center. This can be seen on the second flower to open on this scape.

While it's somewhat disappointing that my bulb doesn't show the big floofy flower I thought I was getting, it's still really pretty and I love the raspberry stippling along the edges.

Thursday, February 09, 2017

Today I have brand new blooms as well as old blooms that just keep chugging along.

New is this Pachyveria hybrid named Claire. It has such pretty clear yellow flowers.

Pachyveria is an intergeneric hybrid of Pachyphytum and Echeveria, both rosette-forming low succulents. Because they are closely related they interbreed easily, and there are tons of cultivars. Of which I have... umm... a few. According to Emma they all look the same, but truly, they're all different! Leaf shape, leaf color, flower color... yeah.

But look how pretty!

The old blooms for today are on a Kalanchoe blossfeldiana, blooming in this mixed succulent dish garden. Emma talked me into buying this in August even though this is one of the mass-produced arrangements that I think is mostly for temporary use, and has the horrible glued-together decorative gravel on the top of the soil. That makes it easier for shipping across the country, sure, but it's terrible for the plants.

However, this container has done surprisingly well. I had it outside until it got too cold, then brought it inside to the lights for the winter. Except for one plant in the front, everything is thriving. The Kalanchoe has been in flower like this for six straight months! Each individual flower only lasts a week or so, but they just keep coming.

I think I'll be taking this arrangement apart and replanting it in the spring, to get rid of the glued gravel and give it better soil. I must say, though, I really like it, considering it was a reluctantly-purchased impulse buy. It's on a shelf where I can see it every time I walk in the back door, and it always gives me a little lift.

Wednesday, February 08, 2017

I have been a citizen of this country for just shy of 46 years and have never before made a call, written a letter, or emailed one of my elected representatives.

Until this past month.

The whole political quagmire of this election cycle, its outcome, and the actions of that man and his circle over the past three weeks just makes me so angry and frustrated and incredulous and afraid that I did it. I called all my state officials, I called the president's office, I called the leaders of Congress. I talked to staffers, I left messages, and sent emails.

I did it multiple times, I called about multiple issues. The first time was the hardest, but I did it and it got easier.

There are so many things going off the rails right now, or at least trending that way. How can tossing all ethical and moral behavior to the four winds, defunding education, turning our backs on science, dismantling the Environmental Protection Agency, wantonly provoking the rest of the world, and all the rest possibly make America great again?